Question

As the second stage of labor begins, the mother has an urge to push. The nurse encourages her to use her abdominal muscles to assist with pushing because:

a. the cervix is completely dilated.
b. the baby needs to be brought down.
c. the cervix needs to be enlarged.
d. effacement needs to be completed.

Answer 1

During the second stage of labor, the cervix is completely dilated, and the mother is encouraged to use abdominal muscles to help push the baby down through the birth canal for delivery.

Step-by-step explanation:

The urge to push at the start of the second stage of labor is a physiological response as the cervix is completely dilated, typically to about 10 cm. At this stage, using abdominal muscles to push is encouraged because the baby needs to descend through the birth canal. The nurse's advice to use the abdominal muscles is not to enlarge the cervix further or to complete effacement, as these are typically completed by the end of the first stage of labor, which involves cervical thinning (effacement) and dilation. Therefore, the correct answer is 'a. the cervix is completely dilated.'